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    Ace Attorney Kristoph Gavin’s Chords of Steel (OC)

    June 30, 2020

    Ace Attorney Kristoph Gavin’s Chords of Steel (OC)

    Kristoph Gavin’s Chords of Steel (OC)

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 12:23 PM PDT

    I GOT IT I GOT IT!!!!

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 10:41 AM PDT

    Can’t forget about Miles!

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 12:37 PM PDT

    [OC] ace attorney cafe outfits and no godot? i will fix that.

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 09:22 PM PDT

    Office Exercise Day (art by Ticcy, on Tumblr)

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 11:16 PM PDT

    I made the ace attorney court room with legos

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 10:28 AM PDT

    Hey guys! Here’s another one! Will also take some requests for.. um... whatever you call these faces. Give me characters to use, and I’ll try my best!

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:55 PM PDT

    is there any way to turn these white flashes off? (AA:Investigstions)

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 07:33 PM PDT

    Little ACE Attorney wallpaper/flag i made! Ill leave credit for the logo in the comments!

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 11:32 AM PDT

    Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright: The First Turnabout: How to Start a Series

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 09:24 AM PDT

    Hey, I was bored and wrote a 4500 word analysis on The first Turnabout. Don't know why, but I did! It's kind of aimed at people who hadn't necessarily played the series, but thought I said enough interesting stuff that people here might be interested. I literally made an account to do this, so sorry if the formatting is wrong or anything, and if it's not right for the sub. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading it.

    [Edited because I didn't put the paragraphing in properly, hopefully more readable now.]

    The Ace Attorney series is a surprise success story in the West from what would be expected to be an obscure Japanese franchise, and yet this video game series with mountains of text and very simple gameplay that's about the Japanese legal system is still popular today. The fact that a lot of you will have heard of this before you even read this article is a testament to that. This series now sprawls over eleven games: six in the main series, two different spin off series with two games each, and a crossover game with Professor Layton (bet it's a long time since you thought about that franchise), not to mention the animes (yes, there have been multiple at this point), movie, and stage plays (multiple of these too somehow). A lot of people will look at this game and call it weeby and bad, and on one count they are right, on the other they are wrong; I absolutely love this series, it's great. It is very weeby though, can't do much to argue against that, oh well. I have played nearly every game in the series, only excluding the one not yet translated into English through either legitimate means or fan translation. And, to my genuine surprise, they've all been good. Sure, some are better than others, but I'd be hesitant to give any a negative rating, which is extremely impressive for a series with its longevity. And to celebrate my enjoyment of this series, I have decided to write a series of articles about it, or maybe just this one article, depends on how bored I get.

    ​

    dThe Ace Attorney games are a visual novel series about defence attorneys trying to get their clients found innocent. And for those who don't know what a visual novel is, it's a partially (and sometimes not at all) interactive story with music and visuals used to 'enhance' the experience, though I know more than a few people who would probably prefer them if they were just books. Each game in the main series is made up of several cases, or episodes, in which you must defend a client from a crime of which they have been accused, usually murder, meaning you can keep it light hearted and silly and not break tone, because, as we all know, murder is a funny crime. Obviously the game wouldn't give you much to do if these chumps you defended were guilty, so it's your job to get these innocent idiots found not guilty, or they'll be executed. Although thinking about it now, a game in which you play as a crooked attorney could be interesting, fixing evidence to get your clients off, but I don't think it's quite the tone the series is going for, oh well. Now, how do you get your clients off? That's right! You find contradictions in blocks of text! Yes, you heard me right! You contradict witness testimonies until you find inconsistencies! It's the best! Like genuinely, it is. It's shockingly compelling. But anyway, by finding these discrepancies you progress the story and get closer to finding the truth. Do this enough and everything comes to light, usually in a dramatic fashion. You also investigate crime scenes, but people care less about those bits, though they function well as vehicles for stupid jokes. Also, the series loves the word turnabout a bit too much, especially for a word I've heard maybe once in any other context, but those are minor annoyances at most. But in the end, even though some of the spin-offs are slight variations on this, and newer games add more features, all the games boil down to the same few fundamental mechanics in finding lies in statements. And it works, it really does.

    ​

    I could talk about a lot of things in the series, from the great music to the (usually) fun characters, and I am going to be talking about them a bit, but what I'm going to be focussing on here is 'The First Turnabout', which, it might surprise you to hear, is the first case in the series. Well, the first case in the first game released, not the first chronologically in the timeline; this series likes to mess with the ordering of cases, for better and for worse; usually worse, but that's beside the point! There are a lot of interesting things in 'The First Turnabout' which I will try to properly discuss here, but the main reason I wanted to write about it is because I believe it is one of the best introductions in any video game franchise, and I'd like to try and articulate why exactly that is. Fair warning, I can't properly talk about the case without going into specifics, so there will be spoilers for the whole case here-on out, and I will be going into a fair amount (read, too much) detail, but I genuinely don't believe it will affect your enjoyment of the case significantly.

    ​

    The first thing I want to say about the case might sound like a negative, and that's because it definitely is. Out of the fifty-four 'turnabouts' from all the released games, this case is nowhere close to the best cases, it's probably not even particularly close to the top half. What a way to start an article about why this case is great, by saying it's comparatively terrible! But there's a reason for that. 'The First Turnabout' is fundamentally incapable of being a great case in its own right due to the fact that it does such a good job at being an introduction to the series. It can't be as complicated, or have as many bells and whistles, as some of the other truly great cases in the series. Some other cases in the series have attempted to function as good jumping in points, and are often much better overall cases than this one (Turnabout Trump comes to mind as the only other particularly strong jumping in point), but no other case comes close to encapsulating what the series is about compared to this one.

    ​

    One of the principle ways 'The First Turnabout' achieves its success is through its length. It's by far the shortest case in the series, rocking in at a whopping thirty-ish minutes total playtime (depending on reading speed) for people who have never played the series before; whereas most cases are at least a few hours in length, and some significantly longer than that. But that's not a bad thing for this case, in fact it's a huge point in its favour. Its brief length makes it for more accessible than any other case in the series, anyone who is interested can pick it up to see if they like it, and in thirty minutes they'll be done. Even in the short amount of time you play, you get to see a lot of the best things this series has to offer, admittedly in a diluted form, but if it's your first time playing you don't know that, which is the important thing here. I don't believe many, or any other series, has an opening thirty minutes which are as representative of pretty much everything the series can offer; all the core mechanics of the game are introduced immediately, from that point on you'll know what you're getting. And at the end of this case, someone will know whether the series is for them or not. And yes, this game won't be liked by everyone, it's a bit… niche. And wordy. And anime-y. All of which are valid reasons to not like it, but by playing this case you can know for certain it's not for you, just as easily as you could play this and know this will be your new favourite video game series. Knowing if you want to sink the next twenty or so hours into a game after thirty minutes is a huge achievement, and I must give credit to this design. Admittedly, this part of the design wasn't intentional, it comes as a combination of the game boy advances hardware capabilities, and the last-minute decision to include this case. But even though it wasn't planned, its brevity truly makes it the best hopping on point for the series.

    ​

    Whenever anyone plays a game they come in with expectations. In a platformer you expect less focus on story and more of a focus on tight gameplay, in a game about zombies you expect gun combat and very subtle references to the fact that maybe humans were the real villain all along, and in a story driven game about lawyers defending clients from murder charges you are going to expect some kind of murder mystery. And this series delivers on that! With a few differences… Personally, I love the murder mystery genre, but there is only so much it seems you can do with it. Traditionally in murder mystery media, you expect to be presented with a list of suspects, one or more of whom committed the crime, then, given clues, the suspect will be caught and all the world's problems will simultaneously be fixed. Typically, the culprit comes down to being the person who had the motive, the means and the opportunity. Find who has those and you've solved the crime. Obviously, this is a very simplistic way of looking at things, and pretty much any decent media that utilises this trope messes with the formula a bit, or at least does something interesting with it, but many series are based on this basic structure. The Ace Attorney series is no exception. Every killer in the series had the motive, the means and the opportunity to commit the crime, but that's often barely important outside of the narrative justification. This would seem like an odd thing, were it not for the fact that the series also doesn't particularly care to keep much mystery in the 'who' of whodunnit, often revealing the culprit immediately.

    ​

    In the opening cutscene of 'The First Turnabout', the killer is revealed, and bam, you know the culprit less than thirty seconds in. This, quite frankly, is a brilliant move for the series because it tells you what king of game this is straight away, throwing any 'whodunnit' expectations out of the window immediately. This levelling of your expectations to show what the game actually is, not what you thought it would be, is a smart move to get out of the way as quickly as possible to avoid disappointment. This series, instead of being based on traditional detective stories a la Hercule Poirot, is much more based on the detective stylings of Columbo. He always knows who did, and he just has to prove it, and that's exactly what you do here. You know who did it, how they did it, now all you have to do is prove it. Whether that's through the motive, the means or the opportunity to have done it. In the first case it only really focuses on one of those, the means. Prove the murderer was in the room at the time of the crime, and you've proved they must have done it. And even though in some cases you focus on different aspects of the murder, that's how the whole series basically works. Confront the guilty party until there is no option other than for them to admit defeat. Knowing who did it doesn't help you do this, as you still have to prove it, in fact, knowing who did it raises the thrill of the chase even more. And this case sets up that scenario perfectly. From the moment it starts you know this isn't going to be a traditional murder mystery, you're going to be catching out the bad guys, and by playing through the rest of the case you'll have accurate preconceptions going into the rest of the game, and the rest of the series.

    ​

    Next, I'll talk about the thing people usually associate playing games with, gameplay. Gameplay in the ace attorney series is different from other forms of games, because it's almost entirely text based, everything in the presentation can be considered gameplay, from clicking through the text, to the cycling through the wrong answers to get funny lines of dialogue, but in this section I'll be focussing on the mechanics of finding of contradictions in testimony. In every case in the series, you are given evidence of a crime, which you then use to prove that what a person said is incorrect. This is done during witness testimony, which is an account in their words split into smaller lines of dialogue. One of these sections will contain a direct contradiction to some of the evidence you possess. Present that evidence and prove the witness is wrong or lying. Then, you do it again. This is the basic gameplay loop that's repeated through the entire series, and it's in 'The First Turnabout' that most players will experience it for the first time, so it had better leave a good impression. Fortunately, it does!

    ​

    Unlike most other cases, all of the evidence is given to you before you have the possibility of using it. This allows the player to see everything they will be dealing with without missing anything or being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of evidence, of which there are only five pieces, including the 'joke' piece of evidence of an attorney's badge, which is a joke I find funny to this day. Each of the 'serious' pieces of evidence are actively required to be selected in the case at some point, even those which might initially seem inconsequential. Through this use of game mechanics, the player is taught that all the evidence given in the game will be useful, however irrelevant it may seem at first.

    ​

    In this case in particular, it is possible to identify how a narrative can be told through the gameplay, and how it draws people into understanding the correct ideas in the game they are playing. I'll admit the first few active player choices made are slightly tutorial-ish and in your face, but they take up less than a couple of minutes of playtime so they're fairly unintrusive, and teach you how to look at evidence. Additionally, some of the cases funniest moments are present in the wrong answers should they be selected, as well as some other choices you can make before the witness testimonies start, and the humour will do a lot to keep the player entertained even if they are feeling patronised. After that though, the first witness testimony begins, and some clever choices were made by the developers to make it an effective narrative and teaching device. One of the most important moments in a game is when you first get to use a core game mechanic, so the first cross-examination in this case is very important. The testimony itself is ten textboxes long, making it one of the longest in the series if I'm not mistaken. This length might initially seem like an overcomplicated choice for a first case, however the contradiction only comes up in the ninth of the ten textboxes, and based on the time the crime occurred, which is something everything can immediately identify as a potential sticking point in the story. By including the contradiction so near the end, the players will have read through almost the entire testimony, and not just skipping once they've realised the contradiction, which is a good habit for the game to teach you. The next two testimonies from the witness get shorter, at six and four textboxes respectively. The second contradiction you find is related to a blackout at the time of the murder, and functions well as a slightly less obvious contradiction that uses a slightly more abstract line of thinking, teaching players to think in different ways when looking for the contradiction. The final testimony is a gimme, being very obvious in the mistake that the witness made, but the function here is not to teach the players the mechanics of the game, but to give the players a feeling of accomplishment that they have caught the culprit in a desperate lie. The shortening in the testimony length also lends to this narrative, as with each successive testimony you feel to culprit getting more and more panicked. This technique in changing the testimony length is incorporated in many cases in the series, not just this one, but is effective here as the player will likely not realise this is happening, and be drawn into the story more naturally. Following the testimonies, only a single piece of evidence need be presented, however this is a slightly more abstract idea, though still basic, based on time-zones. Including parts of the trial where you present evidence outside of witness testimonies reiterates the importance of evidence to the player, and shows that an understanding of the evidence is needed at all times. Another nice feature of this case is the ability to show evidence to the defendant after the trial to make them feel better, showing the versatility of evidence in the game. Overall, the gameplay in this case is used expertly to teach the player about the game, while also enhancing the experience of the player, making them more likely to continue playing the game.

    ​

    One of the most important things in any ace attorney case is the characters, they are the vehicles that drive the story and keep the player invested. An incredibly clever case with interesting twists and turns can be let down by, frankly, incredibly annoying characters, and has been in the series before. But luckily this case makes good use of the few characters it introduces, for the most part. There are only six characters present in the case (not counting the victim), making it a very small cast for an ace attorney case, allowing new players to get a reasonable feel for some of them.

    ​

    The most important character introduced in this case is the protagonist himself, Phoenix Wright. He makes a very good first impression here, being funny from the outset, while also endearing himself to the audience through his dry marks and exasperation. He's a very relatable protagonist, which is good for the series as a whole, but is especially useful in a first case, as it allows the player to put themselves in the mind of Phoenix easily. This is doubly important for a visual novel, as the voice you give the protagonist will keep your enjoyment of the game. Phoenix isn't perfect here though, being slightly too stupid during the earlier stages of the trial, though that has stopped completely by the end of the case. As this is his first trial, though, his naiveté makes sense, and allows for the new players to take on the role of playing him easily. Even then, throughout the case Phoenix is shown to be an interesting character, with multiple funny quips and some eye-catching animations, especially his iconic accusatory pointing. (I usually hate the word 'iconic', but it isn't even an exaggeration here, it's just the truth.) Even in the short time you get to spend with Phoenix this case, you get a feel for the character and understand his decision making, which massively helped by his internal dialogue.

    ​

    The second most important character in the case is the villain of the piece, one Frank Sahwit. So named because he says he saw it. Get it? It's a pun! The series is full of these puns, many as bad as (or worse than) this, which is just another reason why this series is great! While every other living character in the case will appear many times again in the series, Sahwit is the one people will probably remember the most from just this case (though he does have a small appearance in one of the spin off games). He is the principle antagonist to the player, even more than the prosecutor, so making this character memorable and engaging is important to keeping players interest in the series. Sawhit works very well as an introductory villain in this case, as his comedic and incompetent character works well in making him a believable foe for the player to beat in their first trial, while also being satisfying and entertaining in bringing him down. He says a lot in the case, but the thing most players will remember about Sahwit comes from his breakdowns. Breakdowns are one of the most memorable features in the ace attorney series; they are sprite animations which detail someone, often the culprit, breaking down after being confronted with the truth. The two breakdowns Sahwit gets are both memorable and comedic, and will probably be the thing people will remember most about this case after finishing it. By making the first villain in the game function well, the audience is much more likely to continue playing the game, as it is the conflict between he protagonist and culprits which is at the heart of the games.

    ​

    eLarry Butz is the defendant of the case and fills this role well, but is still perhaps the case's weakest character. He can easily come across as annoying and obnoxious to some players, as opposed to endearing, with his womanising ways and ungodly stupidity. However his relatively small amount of screen time will lead this to be not too much of a problem. I also know of some people who really like him as a character, and even though they are obviously wrong and among the stupidest people to ever live, they are entitled to their opinion, so this issue won't apply to everyone. And even then, Larry's character isn't actually particularly important to this case, because what he brings to this case are the stakes of the case, he's who makes you not want to lose. Larry and Phoenix are childhood friends, and if you lose this case Larry will be found guilty of premeditated murder. This makes a compelling reason for the stakes to be high throughout the case, meaning even with the short playtime, players will be invested in playing the case to the end.

    ​

    The last three characters function more as plot devices than characters in their own right, though that isn't a negative for a case this short. Mia Fey is the other character Phoenix knows prior to the case, and acts as the mentor figure, helping out Phoenix, giving a narrative reason for some of the tutorials in the case, which is always a nice inclusion in a game. It is also her potentially unfortunate future that is the hook appearing at the end of the case, giving motivation for players to continue playing the game to see what happens to this character they know. The Judge and Winston Payne are the last two characters in the case and fill the role of judge (shocker) and prosecutor respectively. Both have more character in future cases, but are, rightly, left as fairly blank slates here so that the new player can get to the meat of the gameplay quicker. They also both perform the role as being secondary opposition well, showing that is not just the culprit that the player must overcome, but also the court itself.

    ​

    The last major point I would like to discuss is how the case uses its presentation, primarily using sound and music, to build excitement in the player, making them want to continue playing the game after this initial case. The sound design in the game is phenomenal, and is helped by the fact that pretty much every track in the game holds up in its own right. There are some very clever decisions made regarding the sound in an ace attorney case, not just in this case, but in almost every case in the series, however I feel this will be particularly impactful for first time players so am choosing to discuss it here. Interestingly, one of the strongest uses of the sound design is through having the music stop playing when the player finds a contradiction, This immediately tells the player that they were correct, while not breaking up the gameplay, while also leaving the gap to change into a different song unobtrusively at the most opportune moments, and these moments are picked very well. There are two such themes that start after these breaks, called 'Objection' and 'Cornered', and the best word I can think of to describe the music is 'hype'. The tracks both do an incredibly good job at getting you pumped, and leave that feeling with you throughout most of the case, especially the climax. New players when reflecting on the experience will remember these moments of excitement, helped in large parts by the music, leaving a lasting impression. The breakdowns mentioned previously also utilise music and sound effects well, as well as exaggerated comical animations, helping in their memorability. The other major use of sound in these games is through limited voice work in certain lines, such as 'Objection' and 'Hold It'. These sound-bytes will, again, stick in your mind after you play, as they are also used at well timed moments to keep up the excitement. Surprisingly, this effectiveness if emphasised by the rest of the dialogue being sound effects as opposed to full voice acting. All of these together combine into making the first case a memorable experience for first time players and veterans alike.

    ​

    Also, the case is also genuinely really really funny, but I couldn't find a spot to really talk about this anywhere else that wasn't massively obtrusive, not that it isn't unobtrusive here. Some highlights include Phoenix calls Mr. Sahwit 'Mr. Did It', which genuinely never fails to crack me up, because I'm a child. The comedy present in this case does, however, accurately portray the tone the rest of the series goes for, and if people find it funny they are more likely to carry on playing. Anyway, this is the correct way to end a serious analytical piece! End on the strongest point, and for this case, the strongest point is a man getting a toupee thrown in his face! Wooo!

    ​

    In conclusion, while 'The First Turnabout' is hardly the pinnacle of all Ace Attorney cases, it is the best introduction the series has ever had, and holds up well even twenty years later. I hope the points I've made will help you understand while people picked up this game, and after playing this little case realised it would be one of their favourite game series. It's a very good jumping in point, and if you haven't checked out the series before, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, or at the very least not hate it, or you will just hate it, this game series ain't for everyone. And if you've played the games before, maybe go back and play the case again with a more critical eye to see how it effortlessly draws people in and keeps them playing. Every form of media has to start well to keep people invested, and the Ace Attorney series managed that. It's why people are still playing and loving this series to this day, all because of this lovely little case.

    submitted by /u/RealPerson2817
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    Ace attorney 3ds cover but in English. link to download the cover in the comments (Big thanks to u/Little-Big-Smoke for his assistance in creating the cover)

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 01:42 PM PDT

    gregson, shaved.

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 10:50 AM PDT

    Ace Attorney Trilogy 3ds cover but in English. link to download the cover in the comments (Big thanks to u/Little-Big-Smoke for his assistance in creating the cover)

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 11:23 AM PDT

    I like this, that is all

    Posted: 30 Jun 2020 12:38 AM PDT

    Finished Ace Attorney Trilogy for the first time.

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 08:18 AM PDT

    I've heard about the AA games since a long time ago, and as a kid I always wanted to become a lawyer when I grow up. A few months back I managed to find a copy of the Ace Attorney trilogy for the Switch.

    These games are amazing. The story, characters, and music really drew me in (although I seem to have the same gripes most people have with the games as well).

    I know I'm supposed to play Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney next but I managed to find a copy of the crossover with Professor Layton. Can I play that without spoiling myself?

    submitted by /u/Phrophetsam
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    *Least* favourite entertainment industry case?

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 02:15 PM PDT

    https://www.strawpoll.me/20468251

    My poll from yesterday went pretty much as I thought it would, with 2-4 and 6-2 easily ahead of everything else, and rightfully so, as besides from those two, most of the rest of these cases are somewhat controversial, so I thought it might yield more interesting results to ask the opposite question this time around.

    With that in mind, which case focused on the Ace Attorney entertainment industry is your least favourite?

    submitted by /u/galactar7
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    (Full Fangame Animation) Ace Attorney: The Shield of Justice ~ Episode 2

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 03:07 PM PDT

    Best Selling Ace Attorney Game?

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 12:42 PM PDT

    [AAI2 Spoilers] Is this blindness just too ridiculous for some people to believe?

    Posted: 29 Jun 2020 05:35 PM PDT

    Sirhan Dogen's blindness is completely insane and escalates him to comic book super hero cartoon fantasy levels. So, he is a very effective assassin, can chisel Buddha statues, play chess, and go face-to-face with a rival assassin... and is blind?

    Honestly, in my opinion, it's too implausible. His personality, manner of speech, bells, relation to Simon, and dog are all honestly good enough to make him feel like a unique character and not a Shelly rip-off. I don't find the plot significance of his blindness to justify the implausibility it causes. It's implausible even by the standards of Ace Attorney.

    On a side note I fucking love his character. I really would love to see, maybe in a future game (if there is one), a flashback to the case Edgeworth prosecuted (and presumably investigated) that led to Dogen's imprisonment. Or a flashback to the event that caused him to meet Shelly for the first time. The bond and rivalry between these two assassins who are similar in some ways and different than others is really cool and a great thing to end the game on.

    submitted by /u/ShiningConcepts
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